Method of lubricating engines.



W. S. PEAVEY. METHOD oF LuBmcAl'NG ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. i915.

Patented Get. 12, 1915.

Tas PAE Ficn N WILLIAM S. PEAVEY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR TO STANDARD OIL COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F INDIANA.

METHOD OF LUBRICATING ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. PEAK/EY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Lubricating Engines, of which the following is a speciiioation.l

My invention relates to improvements in the art of lubricating machinery, and `more particularly to a method of effecting the lubrication of steam engines using highpressure or super-heated steam.'

In modern steam-engine practice it has become increasingly difficult to effect a proper and economical lubrication lof those moving parts of theengine which are exposed to the live steam, due to the general use of exceedingly high pressures and high superheat temperatures. The difficulty lies largely in the fact that the mineral lubricating oils, as ordinarily used, are incapable of withstanding the high temperatures of the metal surfaces and of the steam, such high temperatures lowering the viscosity of the lubricant to such a degree as to render it difficult to apply and maintain a proper unbroken lm over the moving surfaces without the use of disproportionately ,large quantities of oil, and where the higher superheat temperatures are used, the flashpoint of the oil may actually be exceeded, so that the oil ilm smokes off at such a rate as to render its maintenance almost impossible.

It is the speciic object of my invention to provide a method of supplying the lubricant and applying it to the surfaces of the engine in such a form as to resist more effectively the action of the super-heated steam and hot metallic walls, to the end that a proper con` tinuous lm may be applied and maintained most easily and certainly, and with the minimum consumption of oil. This object I accomplish in the manner hereinafter set forth.

I have discovered that if an ordinary mineral base lubricating oil, such as is almost universally used for the lubrication of steam engine cylinders, be mixed with pure water, under proper conditions, an emulsion may be formed. This emulsion of lubricating oil and pure water, if properly formed, I find to possess certain peculiar properties which permit of its ready applicability to the lubrication of engine cylinders, and in service as a lubricant, I find that my emulsiiied oil is markedly superior to pure oil under the operating conditions I have described.

For the purpose of making my invention more clear I will describe in considerable detail the procedure employed in carrying out my invention in a preferred manner, and in such description I iind it convenient to refer to the accompanying drawing which shows diagrammatically a steam engine, a steam supply pipe, and a lubricator and emulsifier, the whole being so arranged as to carry out the lubrication of the engine in the manner contemplated by my invention.

In the drawing the numeral 1 designates the engine, and the numeral 2 the vertically extending steam supply pipe of the same. Tapped through the wall of the pipe 2 is a smaller horizontal pipe 3 which is joined by an vangle-valve i to a vertical condensation pipe 5 at the bottom of which is located a well known form .of lubricating cup 6, the horizontal oil outlet 7 of which is connected through a valve 8 with the inlet aperture 9 of my emulsii'ier. The emulsier, as shown in the drawing, comprises a generally cylindrical vertically arranged body por-` tion 9', which carries on its inner Walls a series of downwardly sloping baffles 10, each baiile being connected to the wall at its upper end and terminating short of the opposite wall on the lower end. An opening 11 in the upper end of the body portion has tapped thereinto a condensation coil 12 which may be connected to the horizontal pipe 3 at its upper end, and the lower end of the body portion is provided with a nipple or nozzle 13 which is tapped into the Wall of the steam supply pipe 2. The action of this form of apparatus in carrying out the lubrication ofthe engine according to my process is as follows: Assuming that the engine is operating and that there is a constant flow of steam downwardly through the pipe 2, a portion of the steam will enter the pipe 3 and pass through the valve -i into the condensation pipe 5, in which it will be condensed, the water of condensation draining down into the lubricating cup 6 and displacing the oil therein at a predetermined rate and in a manner well understood in the art to cause a regulated amount of oil to pass out through the outlet 7, and thence into the upper end of the emulsifier. Simultaneously there will be a slight flow of steam from the pipe 3 into the condensing coil 12, and from the latter the hot water of condensation and a certain uncondensed portion of steam will drain downwardly and mix with the oil in the top of the emulsier body. The mixture of oil, hot Water, and steam will drain downwardly over the baffle plates 10, dripping from one plate to the next, until by the time it has reached the bottom of the emulsifier body, the mixture has become completely emulsified and vpresents the ap earance of a creamy lather. This lather-like emulsion contains nothing but lubricating oil and pure water of condensation. The emulsion as formed within the emulsifier body 9 passes outward through the nozzle l1 and at the end of the latter is caught up by the passing current of steam, converted into a mist or spray, and carried along to the engine 1, where it is thrown against and adheres to the surface of the valves, cylinder, and other parts with which the steam comes into contact to form and maintain thereon a continuous film of lubricant which I find, in actual practice, is of such physical properties as to resist tothe greatest degree the action of the high-temperature steam. Y

As exemplified by the foregoing description of the operation of one form of apparatus adapted to carry out my process of lubrication, it will be recognized that the process consists essentially of the following steps' inter-mixing water and oil at a relatively high temperature and in such a manner as to form an emulsion, and introducing the emulsion into the current of steam on its way to the engine to belubricated. The emulsifying action I find to be satisfactorily carried out at temperatures upward of 150 F. without resorting to mechanical stirrers, beaters or shakers, a preferred process consisting of permitting the water and oil to flow together in a small stream and repeatedly drop -onto a lower surface, whereby the impact of the droplets causes them to split up and splash or spray. This action is carried out in the simple form of emulsifying apparatus illustrated diagrammatically in the drawing, wherein the water and oil flow together over the surfaces of the baffle plates and drip from one baflie to the next, until at the bottom of the chamber, the oil and water have'become completely intermixed to form a homogeneous creamy lather Various other mechanical constructions might be used, however, to effect this emulsifying w1th equal efficiency, and for the purposes of the present invention I am not concerned with any particular form of apparatus for forming the emulsion; the apparatus per se forming the subject matter of my co-pending application, Serial No. 12,424, filed March 5, 1915. In emulsifying the oil according to myv process I prefer to effect the intermixture of the oil and water in an atmosphere of steam. The temperature at which emulsification takes place should be between 150 and 250 F., lower temperature than this rendering it difficult to properly emulsify the mixture and higher temperatures having a deleterious action on the oil, reducing its viscosity unduly and in the event of the temperature approaching or exceeding the flash-point of the oil, resulting in a partial vaporization of the latter before vit can be emulsified.

A proper emulsion formed under the conditions I have described maybe subjected to temperatures considerably in excess of the flash-point of the oil without loss of its properties as a lubricant. Thus a common grade of lubricating oil having a flash-point of 480 F. when emulsified according to my process and sprayed into a current of superheated steam having a temperature of 500 F. does not vaporize or gasify, but is carried along in the form of a fine mist of tangible droplets which are deposited on the surfaces of the engine and here also maintain their liquid form under temperature conditions which are quickly destructive of a film of an unemulsified oil. ,i

While I have described in considerable detail-one manner in which my rocess of lubrication may be carried out, 1t is to be understood that this description is illustrative only and for the purpose of making my invention more clear, and that I do not regard my invention as limited to the details' of procedure set forth except in so far as such limitations are included within the following claims in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as is possible in View of the prior l art.

What I claim is:

1. The method of lubricating a steam engine which consists of the following procedure, mixing a lubricating oil and water to form an emulsion, and introducing the emulsion into the steam supply on its way to the engine.

2. The method of lubricating a steam engine which consists of the following procedure, continuously mixing a lubricating oil and water to form an emulsion andintroducing the emulsion as it is formed into the steam supply on its way to the engine.

3. The method of lubricating a steam engine which consists of the following procedure, mixing a lubricating oil and water under a temperature upward of about 150 F. to form an emulsion, and introducing the emulsion into the steam supply on its way to the engine.

4. The method of lubricating a steam engine which consists in the followin procedure, continuously mixing a lubricatmg oil and water, under a temperature of upward of 150O F. to form an emulsion, and introducing the emulsion as it is formed into the steam Supply on its way to the engine.

5. The method of lubricating a steam engine which consists of the following procedure, mixing a lubricating oil and water, in an atmosphere of steam, to forman emulsion, and introducing the emulsion into the steam supply on its way to the engine.

(S. rl`he method of lubricating a steam en gine which consists of the following procedure, continuously mixing a lubricating oil and water, under a temperature of up* ward of 150 F. in an atmosphere of steam, and introducing the emulsion as formed into the steam supply on its way to the engine.

7. The method of lubricating a steam engine which consists of the following procedure, withdrawing live steam from the Steam supply pipe, partially condensing the said steam, mixing the water of condensation with lubricating oil in an atmosphere of steam to form an emulsion, and supplying the emulsion as formed to the current of steam on its way to the engine.

WILLIAM S. PEAVEY.

In presence of- L. HEISLAR, D. C. THORSEN.

copies of this patent may be obtained for Eve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

